About
- Injectable butt lifts are elective cosmetic procedures that add volume, curve, and shape to your buttocks using dermal fillers or fat injections.
Safety
- Dermal filler procedures are considered safe as long as they’re performed by a licensed and experienced provider.
- Side effects can include moderate pain in your buttocks and infection.
- If you undergo a Brazilian butt lift, it’s considered surgical, and the risks and side effects are more serious.
Convenience
- An injectable butt lift procedure may be more convenient than a butt implant procedure, with less downtime for recovery and lower risk of serious complications.
- After you’ve found a trained provider that you trust, scheduling and preparing for an injectable butt lift is simple and straightforward.
Cost
- The average cost of an injectable butt lift depends on the type of treatment you choose. One using dermal fillers such as Sculptra will cost between $5,000 and $7,000. A Brazilian butt lift costs more, starting at $8,000.
Efficacy
- Results of this treatment vary widely, and there isn’t clinical research to show how effective it is.
- Many patients are pleased with their results, while others return for additional injections or fat grafts.
- The results of this treatment aren’t as noticeable as a butt implant.
Over time, it’s natural for your butt to lose some of its fullness and shape. Your butt may start to sag or look less shapely as the result of weight fluctuations, aging, and gravity itself.
This isn’t a medical condition that you need to be concerned about. But some people begin to feel self-conscious about their butt looking “flat” or less perky than it used to appear.
If you’re one of those people, you may want to consider an injectable butt lift.
Types of injectable butt lifts
Injectable butt lifts use fat transfers or dermal fillers to enhance the shape of your butt, making it appear round and curvy.
There are a few different types of injectable butt lifts, including Sculptra butt lifts and Brazilian butt lift procedures.
The type of procedure that you get will depend on your desired outcome as well as the advice of your cosmetic surgeon.
Sculptra, or dermal filler, butt lifts are the only truly nonsurgical butt lift procedures available.
Brazilian butt lifts and other procedures that involve fat injections from your body are considered surgical. These procedures often require anesthesia and come with serious risks, unlike Sculptra butt lifts.
Ideal candidate
The ideal candidate for an injectable butt lift is in overall good health, without a history of bleeding conditions or other health conditions that can make cosmetic procedures riskier.
If you’re looking to contour other parts of your body and have fat that can be grafted into your butt, you may want to consider a Brazilian butt lift.
If your body fat percentage is already low, a dermal filler butt lift may be a better option.
Nonsurgical butt lifts are considered an elective cosmetic procedure. That means that your health insurance won’t cover the cost of this procedure.
So, you’ll need to plan to pay for the entire cost of the procedure out of pocket.
The average cost for a butt lift using Sculptra fillers starts at $5,000. The cost will depend on how many vials of dermal filler product you and your provider decide to use.
On average, the filler costs about $915 per vial, and the procedure can take 4 to 10 vials.
A Brazilian butt lift costs more because of the additional process of collecting your own fat to inject into your buttocks.
The average cost of a Brazilian butt lift appears to be around $8,000. That cost varies widely according to where you get the procedure and how experienced your provider is.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons notes that the average cost of butt augmentation with fat grafting is $4,341. That doesn’t include costs like anesthesia or the use of a hospital facility or operating room.
Recovery from a nonsurgical butt lift requires minimal downtime. If you’re getting dermal injections in your buttocks, you may even be able to return to work the same day.
A Brazilian butt lift may require additional downtime, as you need to avoid sitting directly on your buttocks for several days after the procedure.
Factor your recovery time and the time you can take off work into the total cost of your procedure.
An injectable butt lift involves injecting fat or filler into your body to restore and contour the shape of your butt. It works differently depending on what type of procedure you get.
If you get a butt lift that uses the dermal filler Sculptra, your provider will insert polylactic-L-acid deep beneath the surface of your skin.
This acid is what is known as a biostimulator, meaning it encourages collagen production. If effective, it will give your butt a fuller, curvier look over time.
If you get a Brazilian butt lift or another kind of fat injection butt lift, you see results right away. Fat collected from another part of your body — usually your hip area — is injected into your buttocks.
When you’ve recovered, you can see that your butt has taken on a fuller shape right away.
The procedure for a butt lift can vary according to the type of treatment you choose.
For a butt lift using dermal fillers, your appointment will be short.
You may have a topical anesthetic applied to the injection site, or your doctor may skip it. They will sterilize the injection area beforehand.
The process may be over in 30 minutes.
A Brazilian butt lift procedure is longer and begins with liposuction.
Lidocaine or another local anesthetic will be applied to the area where your liposuction is taking place. Your doctor will make small incisions in your abdomen, hips or love handle area, and then collect fat using a device called a cannula.
You provider will process and sterilize the fat before making an injectable mixture of fat, saline, and plasma. This fat is then injected into your buttocks.
This treatment can take an hour or more.
An injectable butt lift targets the areas over your gluteal muscles and the backside of your thighs.
Your hips or another area of your body may be affected if you’re getting fat taken from one part of your body and injected into your buttocks.
Your buttocks is the only area affected directly by the injections.
Complications from a butt lift are rare, but they do occur.
Dermal filler
Side effects of Sculptra commonly include pain and soreness in the area of your injections. There’s a risk of the Sculptra filler product “settling” in a way that makes your butt look lumpy or bumpy.
Sculptra can’t be dissolved, so if this happens, you have to wait until the injection’s results wear off. There’s not much you can do to correct it.
There’s also the risk of broken blood vessels from the needle used for your injections.
Fat grafting and injecting
Side effects of a Brazilian butt lift can be more serious. Scarring, pain, and infection as a result of the fat collection may occur.
In 2018, a study showed that in 1 out of 3,000 Brazilian butt lifts, death occurred as the result of fat embolisms and respiratory distress caused by the procedure.
Some feel that the risk reflects inexperienced or unlicensed providers doing the procedure incorrectly.
A small
Contact your provider and seek emergency medical assistance immediately if you experience any of these symptoms after the procedure:
- fever
- yellow drainage
- shortness of breath
- nausea
- dizziness
After a Sculptra butt lift, minimal recovery is expected. You can resume most of your normal routine within a day or two. You don’t have to make any major lifestyle adjustments following this treatment.
You may feel some soreness or aching deep in your gluteal area, but that pain should subside within a week. You may also be instructed to sleep on your belly or side for 2 weeks while the results of the butt lift take full effect.
If you get a Brazilian butt lift, you’ll also have to avoid sitting directly on your buttocks for 6 to 8 weeks after the procedure. You’ll also need to wear a compression garment in the areas where fat was collected from your body.
Results
Results will vary. If you get dermal fillers, such as Sculptra, it will take several months for your results to settle and for the injections to take their full effect. You may also need several treatments spaced out weeks or months apart to get a noticeable improvement.
Results from a Sculptra butt lift aren’t permanent. Some people see results that last 2 to 3 years. In the best case scenario, results can last up to 4 years.
After a Brazilian butt lift or other types of autologous fat injection, results will be more immediate. You can expect about 50 percent of the injected fat to absorb during the healing process.
That means that while your buttocks will be larger than before surgery, the immediate result will be somewhat smaller over the long term.
Here are some before and after examples of what you can expect from an injectable butt lift.
Before a nonsurgical butt lift, your provider will give you detailed instructions about how to prepare for your treatment.
This list may include directions such as:
- For 2 weeks prior to treatment, avoid ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that can increase your bleeding risk.
- Stop taking herbal supplements for 2 weeks prior to your treatment.
- Stop smoking and vaping prior to treatment.
- Don’t drink alcohol for 48 hours prior to treatment.
An injectable butt lift procedure is different from one that involves a butt implant.
A Sculptra butt lift doesn’t require anesthesia, doesn’t leave scarring, and can produce mild to moderate results in an hourlong appointment.
While a Brazilian butt lift is still considered surgical and may require anesthesia, it’s also much different from a butt implant procedure.
A butt implant procedure involves the surgical placement of an implant. The surgery is a serious one, and your risk of complications is higher. It requires anesthesia and results are permanent and much more noticeable.
Finding a board certified, licensed surgeon is essential to the success of a nonsurgical butt lift.
A good provider will have a consultation with you where you discuss the results you want. You will also discuss the possible complications and side effects of your procedure.
You can start your search for a cosmetic or plastic surgeon by using the American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s database tool or the American Board of Plastic Surgery’s search tool.